Pit bull that bit east Birmingham teen euthanized after owner decides she can't keep it fenced

A pit bull that attacked a 13-year-old east Birmingham boy last month has been euthanized, police said today.

The dog's owner voluntarily surrendered the pet to animal control after police went by the house Tuesday and saw the dog was not properly confined, Birmingham Police detective Dana Johnston said.

The dog was in a fenced area but one police determined it could readily escape from, Johnston said.

The owner already had been charged once with violating the city's leash law. If she had kept the dog, she would have been charged again, Johnston said.

"She didn't want to lose her dog but she was unable to do anything else with the fence," Johnston said. "There was no way for her to keep it and be in compliance with the law."

Cesar Escobedo, a Whatley K-8 School student, was playing outside Feb. 15 near his home on 17th Avenue North when the dog attacked him, biting his arm. Cesar said his friends beat the dog until it let go. Animal control quarantined it for 10 days.

On Monday, the boy's mother, Romana Carrillo, held a neighborhood meeting at her house with police and animal control officials. Community organizers are planning an education campaign in the neighborhood and plan to meet again in a couple of weeks. Johnston said she already noticed a change since Monday's meeting.

"I didn't see as many loose as I did the day before," Johnston said, "so I think maybe people are getting notice and putting them up."

Janie Thomas, with BJC Animal Control Services, said her agency picked up four dogs on Tuesday from the neighborhood, near the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. A trap has been set as well, she said.